The Australian sharemarket is sitting in the black for the third consecutive session with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) lifting a modest 0.4% despite a marginal setback on Wall Street overnight.
While there is plenty of green on the market these five big-name companies find themselves deep in the red.
Primary Health Care Limited (ASX: PRY) provided an earnings update after the market closed yesterday and investors did not like what they saw. The shares plunged 8.5% to $4.75, making it the worst performing stock from the ASX 200 group, with earnings expected to come in at $400 million. That compares to previous guidance of $410-$425 million.
Investors also responded to the news by selling down fellow healthcare business, Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL), which crashed 5.1% to $22.40. Despite today's losses however, the stock is still trading almost 27% higher compared to this time last year.
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED (ASX: WHC) has plummeted 7.6% to trade at $1.15 per share. The coal miner reported record output of 14.6 million metric tonnes of saleable coal in the 12 months to 30 June with sales up 29% to 14 million tonnes. The problem is, Whitehaven also forecast further falls in coal prices which will continue to impact the miner's margins and overall profitability.
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) fell 2.8% to $9.14, giving it a total decline of 16.9% since early April. Although the beverage manufacturer didn't release any specific news that would explain today's pullback, it's possible investors are responding to a report by Deutsche Bank which estimated an 11% decline in the company's supermarket prices during the June quarter. While a drop in prices may help the company win back market share, investors may be concerned its competitive advantage (being able to charge more than its rivals for similar products) may be eroding.
Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH) declined 2%, ending what had so far been an impressive week for the legal eagle. After losing almost half its value in June, the stock ended last week at $3.39, but hit a high of $3.86 this morning. Investors shouldn't get too carried away with the stock given that some of its practices are still under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
